Our discussion this week focuses on mental health needs often overlooked, those of first responders.

After reviewing the resources below, identify in your post three things you believe it is critical for first responders to know about regarding potential threats of disaster response work to their mental health. These can be of a preparatory and preventative or a post-event recovery nature or a combination of both as long as critically important which means essential for maintaining or restoring one's mental health.

This dialog also serves as a collaborative idea sharing space for the Workshop for First Responders assignments due latter in the course as you are free to include in that work up to three ideas shared by classmates here that you might not have thought of (being sure, of course, to paraphrase and not copy).

Beyond Debriefing: How to Address Responders' Emotional Health

http://www.emergencymgmt.com/training/Beyond-Debriefing-Responders-Emotional-Health.html

Former Emergency Service Workers Speak Out about their Experiences with PTSD

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-03/former-emergency-service-workers-speak-about-ptsd/6518506

Psychological Trauma and First Responders

http://americanmentalhealthfoundation.org/2015/04/psychological-trauma-and-first-responders/